Latest Texas Headlines
All the headlines from our Texas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Final Defendants Sentenced in Massive Texas Work Comp/Healthcare Fraud Case
Mar 31 2021 // The remaining defendants in a North Texas medical center healthcare and workers’ compensation fraud scheme have been sentenced, the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation reported It’s the final chapter...
Damaged Homes, Injuries, 1 Death, in East Texas Tornado
Mar 30 2021 // One person was killed after severe weather, including a tornado, caused damage in several communities in East Texas, authorities said. Widespread destruction across Panola County was reported, including damaged homes and...
Texas Attorneys Face Organized Crime, Workers’ Comp Fraud Charges
Mar 30 2021 // Three attorneys and two law firms in Texas have been indicted on organized crime and other charges in relation to alleged workers’ compensation fraud. The indictments stem from Texas Division of Workers’...
Texas Legislation Would Overhaul State’s Electricity Market, Require Weatherization
Mar 30 2021 // The Texas Senate has unanimously approved a sweeping bill that would overhaul the state’s electricity industry and infrastructure, including mandating that power plants prepare for extreme weather and outlawing risky...
Study: Nearly 70% of ERCOT Customers Lost Power During Texas Winter Storm
Mar 29 2021 // Last month’s disastrous and deadly winter storm impacted most Texans served by the state’s main power grid, with almost 70% of those people losing power in subfreezing temperatures and almost half experiencing...
OSHA Sues Texas Hotel Operator for Whistleblower Law, Other Violations
Mar 29 2021 // Federal officials have sued the operator of a hotel in Waller, Texas, after it fired an employee who sought medical help after being exposed to carbon monoxide and reported the incident. According to U.S. Department of...
Judge: Austin Can Require Masks Despite Lifting of Texas’ Statewide Mandate
Mar 29 2021 // A Texas judge is allowing the City of Austin to continue to require face coverings in local businesses weeks after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott ended a statewide mask mandate and other COVID-19 safety measures. The ruling...
South Central People Moves: Texas’ BSBD Group Adds Williamson as VP
Mar 26 2021 // Dallas-based independent retail brokerage firm, Boyd, Shackelford, Barnett & Dixon (BSBD Group). has hired Lad Williamson as vice president of Employee Benefits. Williamson will help oversee the employee benefits...
When Lights Go Out as They Did in Texas, Insurance Coverage Could Turn On
Mar 26 2021 // The power was still off in Texas last month when rating agencies began predicting that the weather-related catastrophe would cause unprecedented losses for insurance companies. On February 19, rating agency A.M. Best...
AM Best Credit Ratings Assigned to Texas’ Upland Specialty Insurance
Mar 25 2021 // AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” to Upland Specialty Insurance Co. (Upland Specialty) in Dallas. The outlook assigned to these...
Battle Brews over Texas Bills Aimed at Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawsuits
Mar 25 2021 // A battle is brewing between trucking and insurance industry interests and trial lawyers in Texas over a pair of companion bills introduced in the Texas House and Senate that proponents say are aimed at providing...
Central Texas Town Hit Hard by Spring Storms
Mar 24 2021 // Springtime storms caused significant damage to buildings in a central Texas city, and forecasters say more stormy weather is expected later in the week for parts of the southern U.S. There were no immediate reports of...
Texas Windstorm Insurer Plans for $4B in Funding for Hurricane Season
Mar 24 2021 // Texas’ wind and hail insurer of last resort for properties in the state’s coastal counties has determined it needs $4.03 billion in funding to prepare for this year’s hurricane season. The board of...
Judge: No Dismissal of Ammo Seller from Suit over Texas School Shooting
Mar 24 2021 // A Tennessee-based online retailer accused of illegally selling ammunition to a student who fatally shot 10 people at a Texas high school in 2018 won’t be dismissed from a lawsuit filed by families of those killed and...
Texas Forest Service: Southern Plains Wildfire Outbreak Possible this Spring
Mar 23 2021 // Texas A&M Forest Service and the National Weather Service have identified an extremely dangerous fire weather phenomena known as a Southern Plains Wildfire Outbreak, or SPWO, and are watching for it to occur in...
Texas Bills Address Workers’ Comp, Other Protections for First Responders
Mar 22 2021 // A Texas legislator has filed a package of bills he says is aimed at protecting injured first responders and their families. Rep. Jared Patterson, a freshman legislator representing District 106 in Denton County, serves on...
Texas House Panel Advances Bill Requiring Power Plants to Prep for Extreme Weather
Mar 19 2021 // Several bills responding to Texas’ February power outages including one mandating that power plants prepare facilities for extreme weather and another reforming the Electric Reliability Council of Texas board —...
More Fallout from February Blackouts: Last Texas Power Regulator Resigns
Mar 18 2021 // The last Texas regulator on the Public Utility Commission at the time of the deadly February blackouts has resigned, Gov. Greg Abbott announced. In a statement issued on March 16, Abbott said he had asked for and accepted...
Wisconsin’s Society Insurance to Enter Texas Hospitality Market
Mar 18 2021 // Wisconsin-based Society Insurance has plans to launch its insurance programs for the hospitality industry in Texas this year. In business for more than 100 years, Society Insurance offers property/casualty coverages,...
At Least 57 People Died in the February Winter Storm in Texas
Mar 17 2021 // At least 57 people died in Texas as a result of the mid-February 2021 winter storm, according to preliminary data the state health department released March 15. The largest number of deaths — at least 25 — occurred in...
